Racks



H. JOSEPH July 1l, 1967 RACKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 18, 1965 FIG. 2

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INVENTOR HENRY JOSEPH ATTORNEY H. JOSEPH July 11, 1967 RACKS 4 Sheets-Sheet E Filed June 18, 1965 R ow ME Es v0 NJ V M E .H

ATTORNEY July 11, 1967 H. JOSEPH 3,330,419

RACKS Filed June 18, 1965 INVENTOR Hfs/vnr Jose-PH BY M ATTORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet L-,

United States Patent O 3,330,419 Patented July 11, 1967 3,330,419 RACKS Henry Joseph, Jamaica, N.Y. (13.0. Box 406, Jersey City, NJ. 07303) Filed .lune 18, 1965, Ser. No. 465,054 7 Claims. (Cl. 211176) This invention relates to racks, and more particularly to racks adjustably mounting stacks of shelving of one sort or another and is an improvement upon my prior Patent Number 3,039,620 of June 19, 1962.

In its broad aspect, the invention proposes an improved rack wherein a plurality of shelf-supporting units are provided which may be included, rearranged, added to or subtracted from a complete stack assembly to suit the desires and convenience of the user, without having to remove the contents of the shelves in effecting the rearrangement, except possibly the shelves of the units to be removed or added.

Also broadly considered, the invention provides improved shelfsupporting units reversibly usable at either end of the shelves and each unit having a plurality of correspondingly arranged brackets or shelf-supporting lugs for adjustably locating shelves at any desired spacing from each other as a stack of shelving.

Another object of the invention is to provide for irnproved convenient releasable means for interconnecting aligned units at each side of the rack that will permit removal of any selected pair of units from any location in the stack or permit insertion of a new pair of units between others already in the stack.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means to keep the stack of shelves from swinging forwardly from the cabinet.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a structure Suited to fabrication from sheet metal and by acceptable modes of stamping, shearing, punching and bending available in the art of metal working.

Important amongst objects of the invention is provision of shelves with convenient front gates adjustable to angular disposition enabling labels thereon to be easily perused but permitting ready access to the shelf area therebehind.

Other objects, advantages and novel structural features will appear to persons skilled in the art to which the invention appertains as the description proceeds, both by direct recitation thereof and by inference from the context.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views;

FIGURE l is a front elevation of a rack mounted in an open-front cabinet, ready to receive additional shelves at any desired elevation, above, between or below the shelves actually shown;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal section just below the top of the cabinet, as on line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section looking from front to rear on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of a portion of the outside of the cabinet at the part thereof where the chain hoist is located;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of or elevator for the stack of shelving;

FIGURE 6 is a perspe-ctive view of one of the shelfreceiving and supporting units, looking at the inward side thereof;

FIGURE 7 is a corresponding perspective view of said unit, looking at the outward side thereof;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the interconnecting key or bolt for supporting one unit from another;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective View of a shelf for use a certain platform with others of like character to constitute the stack of shelving for the rack; I

FIGURE 10 is a sectional View taken in direcuon from front toward the back of a shelf, and showing a chock holding the front gate of the shelf upright; and

FIGURES ll and 12 are similar sectional views showing the same ychock holding the front gate at other angular dispositions.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawings, the reference numeral 20 designates an upright enclosure here shown as an open-front cabinet having a base 21 supporting thereabove upright side walls 22, 22 and back wall 23. A rigid valance 24 extends crosswise between the side walls at the front edges next to the top thereof. A vertical hollow stile 25 is provided at the front edges of the side walls, and a similar hollow vertical stile 26 is provided within the cabinet at the two rear corners thereof next to the back wall. In cross-section, the said stiles at front and rear project equal distances from the respective side wall transversely inwardly of the cabinet, as a result of which the corresponding lateral faces of the respective front and rear stile at each side of the cabinet are in a common plane offset from the side Wall of the cabinet thereat. Shelves 27 are provided which extend substantially from one said plane to the other and from front to back of the cabinet. Just enough space, with clearance, is left between the ends of the Shelves and said planes to accommodate sheetmetal thickness of shelf-receiving and supporting units 28 next to be described.

According to the present invention, the shelves are carried at opposite ends thereof by supporting units 28 of identical construction to each other and formed so that -a unit may be used at either end of the shelf merely by turning the unit around. Each unit is shown as comprising two sheet-metal laminations welded or otherwise secured flatwise together. For purpose of distinguishing between these laminations, the one facing inwardly toward the shelf ends will be designated as the inner member 30, whereas the lamination facing toward the proximate side of the cabinet in use will be termed the outer member 31. The over-all height of these two members 30, 31 is shown to be equal one to the other which adds somewhat to the edgewise support in the stacked arrangement of one above another. The front-to-back length of the said inner member 30, however, is preferably greater than the corresponding length of the outer member 31 in appropriate amounts at each end, by virtue of which the outer member will ride between the front and rear Stiles 25, 26 whereas the inner member 30 overlaps at the aboveJ described lateral faces of those stiles in the said common plane thereof. Furthermore, the top and bottom extremities of -the outer member are bent outwardly at right angles to provide outwardly projecting flanges 32 longitudinally of said member with their ends riding proximate to the front and rear stiles, thereby preventing the unit from swinging out of the cabinet.

The inner member, viewed for instance at its front end, has a I-shape, the short leg of the I projecting in use inwardly of the cabinet toward the ends of the shelves. The top of said inner member is correspondingly formed but with an inverted I-shape. By virtue of shape mentioned and since it exists throughout the length of said member, top and bottom longitudinal lips 33 are provided, and it will shortly be seen that it is by means of these lips that the members supply and receive hooked suspension.

Said inner member 30, in the area between said top and bottom lips 33, and at the same side of the member from which the lips project, have shelf-supporting lugs 34 also of hooked character directed upwardly. As best shown in FIG. 6, there are two vertical series of said lugs, one series being near the front end of the member conforming to the vertical disposition of the lugs of the other series. Selected pairs of these lugs of the two series are utilized for the support of one end of a shelf 27. If lugs in each series at equal distance from the upper lip, for instance, are selected to support a shelf, the shelf will be horizontal, but if a lug in the rearward series higher up than the lug selected in the vfront series are used to receive the shelf, then the shelf will have a forward downward inclination which'is sometimes desirable for encouraging articles on the shelf to move forwardly thereon. Each shelf 27 has a downwardly directed flange 27' at each end extending from front to rear of the shelf, and in applying the shelf to the units 28, said flanges are slid longitudinaly behind the lugs 34 thereby keeping the shelf from slipping off the lugs selected to receive and support the shelf. Presence of a shelf or a plurality of shelves between two opposite units 28 will keep the units from swinging inwardly away from the sides of the cabinet and will keep lthe units verticaly aligned with each other and in sliding engagement with the Stiles.

The units 28 at each side of the cabinet are arranged in vertically aligned tiers and each unit that is below another is supported or hung therefrom by appropriate utilization of the above-described longitudinal lips 33. In view of the fact that an essential object of the invention is to provide for convenient removal of any pair of opposite units without having to disturb the loads carried by shelves of the units above and below the ones being removed, or in another instance, to separate two units for insertion of another therebetween, the supporting connection between superposed units is yappropriately made with a bolt or key 35 mutually engaging or hooking onto proximate lips 33 of lthe adjacent units 28 of the tier. Said bolt is slidable off of said lips by pulling it forwardly, and for more convenient manipulation thereof is provided with a finger-piece or tab 36 bent from the metal composing the main body portion 37 thereof next to the front end of said bol-t or key. Otherwise, said main body portion 37 is at, but has its longitudinal margins bent in ka direction toward the units, thereby forming top and bottom longitudinal ridges 38 from which the metal therebeyond is further bent into parallelism to and opposite Vto the main body 37 to form longitudinal tongues 39 spaced from and both at the same side of said main body. The two tongues 39 thus formed are in a common plane and have longitudinal edges directed toward each other but with a crevice 40 therebetween spacing said edges apart. In end view, therefore, said bolt has a hooked formation at top and bottom and of dimensions and character enabling the same to be slid longitudinally onto the hooked formation of the unit lips 33 and to be correspondingly slid off of them by pulling the bolt forwardly.

The uppermost pair of units 28 are hung by their top lips 33 hooking onto upstanding flanks 41 at side edges of a platform or elevator 42 (FIGS. 1 and 5) suspended horizontally thereabove. Said platform has dimensions corresponding to those of the shelves and in use remains permanently in lthe cabinet in its horizontalposition but movable up and down as occasion requires. Said flanks 41 also serve as reenforcement in a front to back direction against bending of the platform, and coresponding reenforcement in a side to side direction may be suitably obtained as by downwardly bent front and back rims 43.

An appropriate hoist is provided for supporting, raising and lowering said platform or elevator 42. In the particular orientation of the hoist, here arranged for hand control at the right-hand side of the cabinet, a drive shaft 45 is shown perpendicular to and behind the cabinet valance 24 extending substantially to the back wallV 23 parallel to the top wall 46 of the cabinet. Said shaft, proximate to its forward end passes through a gear box @Ali 47 with suitable bearing support therein. Fixed on the shaft, within said gear box, is a worm-gear 48 in mesh with a horizontally positioned worm 49 also having bearings in the gear box and having a stub end 50 protruding from the right-hand side wall 22 of the cabinet. A chainoperated wheel 51 is fixed on the stub end 50 to drive the worm by pulling on an endless chain 52 meshing with said wheel. A housing 53 around the chain wheel keeps the chain in its operative meshing with the cogs of the said wheel.

Proximate to the forward end of said drive shaft 45 behind the valance 24 and in front of gear box 47 are two parallel sprockets, for identification purposes here designated front sprockets 54, and proximate to the rear end of said shaft are two other parallel sprockets 55. All of said sprockets are of equal diameter to each other and are all fixed on the shaft to be simultaneously rotated thereby. Part of the periphery of each of these sprockets projects into the hollow of the proximate stile 25 or 26 so that the chains 56 passing over the tops of said sprockets may hang down inside of said Stiles. A different chain is provided for each sprocket, but obviously all four chains move simultaneously equal amounts when the shaft is rotated.

Near the other side of the cabinet is another shaft, for distinguishing purposes here referred to as the driven shaft 57, parallel to the driving shaft 45. It may be here mentioned that near the rear of the driving shaft 45 there is a bearing 58 for the same secured to the top wall 46 of the cabinet, and similar bearings 59 also secured to the top wall of the cabinet are provided near the forward and rearward ends of the driven shaft 57 for support thereof in parallel relation -to the driving shaft.

The driven shaft 57 has front and rear sprockets 60, 61 respectively, fixed thereon substantially opposite to a corresponding front and rear sprocket of the driving shaft. One chain 56 from one front sprocket 54 of the driving shaft extends across the cabinet to the front sprocket 60 of the driven shaft and therefrom passes downwardly to the elevator or platform 42 to which it is attached as by eyelet 62. Likewise another chain 56 from one of the rear sprockets 55 of the driving shaft extends across the cabinet to and over the rear sprocket 61 of the driven shaft and downwardly to also be attached tothe elevator or platform 42. Two other chains 56 individual to the other front and rear sprockets 54, 55 on the driving shaft 45 pass over the respective sprockets and directly down to eyelets attaching those chains thereby to the platform or elevator 42. Spacing of the shafts and sprockets is such that the several chains hang substantially vertically from the respective sprockets to said eyelets at locations near the four corners of the platform where holes 63 are provided within which to attach said eyelets. It may also be noted that the sprockets are preferably all close enough to the top wall 46 of the cabinet to keep the chains from rising off the sprocket wheels in use. Since all of the sprockets are of equal diameter and rotate simultaneously, the platform or elevator will always remain horizontal at all positions to which it is raised or lowered.

A further feature of the inven-tion resides in the provision of gates 65 at the fronts of the shelves 27. Said gates are arranged and adapted to not only confine the shelf contents, but to also constitute labeling surfaces. In simplest form selected for illustration herein, reference being had to FIGS. l and 9-12, the gate is a flat strip of met-al or other suitable material, hinged as a-t 66 a-t its bottom longitudinal edge at the front edge of the shelf. Springs 67 may be provided on the hinge pins to exert pressure on the gate tending to swing said gate upwardly and inwardly with respect to the shelf. In conjunction with the said gate, I provide means by which its angular relation to the front of the cabine-t may be varied agreeable to the elevation at which the shelf is situated. Accordingly a chock 68 is provided that is adapted to be manipulated t0 011e POSiOn Where it will hold the gate vertically for a shelf that is located approximately at eye level of the user. The chock also can be manipulated to cause the gate to tilt forwardly for a shelf the position of which is above the eye level of the user; and again can be manipulated so the gate will tilt inwardly when the shelf is below the eye level of the user. The particular chock shown is of block nature with one vertical face 69 and an opposite sloping face 70. The chock is secured to the shelf by a screw 71 which permits the chock to `be reversed for either end to be directed forwardly. It also may be inverted so as to present the slope either inwardly upward or inwardly downward. Two screw holes 72 are provided to adjust the chock forwardly or rearwardly depending upon which side up it is used for the desired slope. One or more of such chocks may be used, and preferably are at a position at the end of the gate so as to offer minimal interference with placement or removal of material on the shelf. A gate as long as the shelf is wide, will enable the chock to be at the end edge of the shelf, whereas shorter gates require placement of the chock that much further from the edge of the shelf.

I claim:

1. A rack comprising opposed tiers of units of which the units of each tier are stacked edgewise one on another, each unit having shelf-supporting lugs projecting from one side thereof, and each unit having at top and bottom thereof hook-shaped longitudinal lips, and an interlocking key having longitudinal tongues engaging and retaining a top said lip of a first unit and a bottom said lip of a second unit stacked on the said trst unit.

2. A rack comprising opposed tiers of units of which the units of each tier are stacked edgewise one on another, each unit having shelf-supporting lugs projecting from one side thereof, and each unit having at top and bottom thereof hook-shaped longitudinal lips, said lips all being at the same side of said unit as said lugs, and an -inter locking key having longitudinal tongues engaging and retaining a top said lip of a first unit and a bottom said lip of a second unit stacked on the said rst unit.

3. A rack comprising opposed tiers of units of which the units of each tier are stacked edgewise one on another, each unit having shelf-supporting lugs projecting from one side thereof and with said lugs located in symmetrical series near both ends of said unit whereby the units from one stack may be reversed and used in the other stack, each unit having at top and bottom thereof hook-shaped lips at the same side of said units as said lugs, and means also at the said side of the unit as said lugs and lips interengaging proximate lips of the stacked units.

4. A rack in accordance with claim 3, wherein a shelf extends between units of opposite tiers, said shelf having downwardly projecting anges at each end thereof projecting behind said lugs.

5. A rack comprising opposed tiers of units of which the units of each tier are stacked edgewise one on another, each unit having shelf-supporting lugs projecting from one side thereof, each unit having at top and bottom thereof hook-shaped lips, means interengaging with proxirnate lips of the stacked units, and an elevator constituted as part of said rack `and located above the uppermost said units of the opposed tiers, said elevator having upwardly projecting flanks at its ends engaged in the top hookshaped lips of the uppermost said units of said tiers of units.

6. A rack in accordance with claim 5 comprising in combination with a cabinet having side walls and hollow Stiles internally of and integral with said cabinet at the front and rear edges of said side walls, said shelf-supporting units being laminated with one lamination inwardly of the cabinet slidable `against said stiles at the proximate side of the cabinet, and with another lamination located closer to said proximate side of the cabinet then the iirst said lamination and projecting between the front vand rear Stiles at the respective side of the cabine-t, thereby preventing the units from displacement outwardly from said cabinet.

7. A rack in accordance with claim 6, wherein a plurality of four chains are attached to the elevator respectively near the four corners thereof, means for hoisting and lowering said elevator by said four chains acting in unison, and said chains having their other ends slidably located each in the hollow of an individual one of said stles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,739,869 12/1929 Vance 108-109 2,429,523 10/1947 Murphy 312-223 2,451,120 10/1948 Rosseaer 312-223 2,893,804 7/1959 Palmer S12-71 2,933,195 7/1960 Radek 211--153 3,039,620 6/1962 Joseph 198-109 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Examiner. W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A RACK COMPRISING OPPOSED TIERS OF UNITS OF WHICH THE UNITS OF EACH TIER ARE STACKED EDGEWISE ONE ON ANOTHER, EACH UNIT HAVING SHELF-SUPPORTING LUGS PROJECTING FROM ONE SIDE THEREOF, AND EACH UNIT HAVING A TOP AND BOTTOM THEREOF HOOK-SHAPED LONGITUDINAL LIPS, AND AN INTERLOCKING KEY HAVING LONGITUDINAL TONGUES ENGAGING AND RETAINING A TOP SAID LIP OF A FIRST UNIT AND A BOTTOM SAID LIP OF A SECOND UNIT STACKED ON THE SAID FIRST UNIT. 